Playing the Game
by Amy21798
Summary: A side case that murders are based on 'The Hunger Games' Book and bring Castle and Beckett closer. No spoliers for anything Just a side case. Cover is images or books that relate to the story
1. Chapter 1

******_A/N: Ok im starting a story on Castle cause i thought i'd try something other than Sherlock so yeah hopw you enjoy. :)_**

**_Oh and p.s. Disclamier- I don't own castle (sadly) and I didn't right 'The Hunger Games' (but i do own the books)  
><em>**

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><p><strong>Playing the Games<strong>

**Chapter 1**

It was just another morning for him before he got the call from Beckett. When he saw her name his face lit up with excitement. He looked over to Alexis and smiled, he walked over slowly making her wait on the other end.

"Beckett, calling for a body or cause you wanted to hear my voice" He said grinning, while his daughter looked at him like he was crazy.

"For a Body of Course Castle" Beckett said over the other end, also smiling and blushing a little at what he had said, "And you may be a little bit _enthusiastic _about this one"

"Ah of course a body and why might that be?"

"You'll just have to wait and see at the scene." She said as she gave him the address and hung up. He looked around and quickly went to his room and got changed. He could help but let different scenarios go through his head; he wondered what might be so interesting that he would be _really_ enthusiastic about it, even to him who loved every case they did. He said bye to Martha and Alexis as he went out the door and hailed a cab.

20 minutes later he was at the scene were Beckett, Esposito, Ryan and Lanie were all at already. He handed Beckett one of the 2 coffees he had in his hand. She nodded and smiled at him, taking a sip as they walk over to the body. As soon as he saw the body he stopped dead in his tracks looking shocked. He looked at the little girl on the ground with flowers all around her, a bunch in here hands, that are closed together on her stomach, and a spear with blood on it beside her.

"What happened?" Castle said still staring at the girl lying on the ground

"Well," Lanie began also not looking away from the body, "She was killed by the spear here on the ground entering her stomach and it looked like she str-" She looked up at castle and saw something on his face, like _depression_ or something "Are you ok Castle?"

Castle had to shake his head to make his mind think straight and out of the hole he was in, "Oh yeah im fine, it's just… I've seen this before"

"What where?" Beckett said looking at him confused trying to figure out where he had seen it before.

"Well you read don't you Beckett? Really look at her and think" He said looking at Beckett. She just looked at him in confusion then back at the body, she looked at intensely trying to figure out what he meant then it hit her, it was like a tonne of bricks hitting her. Why hadn't she seen this before? She looked up at him, showing victory in her eyes as well as amazement at how fast he picked it up.

Castle smiled at her and then looked around to the others who were just standing there in confusion looking at both of them. He had to hold back a laugh at their faces and Beckett bit her bottom lip to do the same. But not before letting out a little giggle she couldn't hold back, he looked at her with amusement and love in his eyes. Castle loved her laugh.

"Ok can someone tell us what we've missed please" Ryan said looking between Castle and Beckett for an answer.

"You guys don't read much do you?" Castle said there was still that confused look on their faces as if he and Beckett were crazy. That was it; he started laughing at them as if they were idiots for not getting it. "It's how Rue died in 'The Hunger Games', the book by Suzanne Collins"

"Oh right I knew that" Esposito said looking around trying to act cool again with a smile on his face "Didn't she write 2 other books after that and now they're making a movie on it?"

"That's correct" Castle and Beckett said at the same time.

They looked around to see if there is anything that they missed. There was nothing. Kate told Lanie to check for prints on the spear and on the body. Kate and Rick started walking back to Kate's squad car in silence until Rick remembered something he had picked up the other day that he wanted to show her. He waited till they were close to the car to stop her by putting a hand on her shoulder. He turned her around and quickly moved his hand of her shoulder and closed his eyes to wait for the slap she was about to give for him touching her shoulder. Though it never came, he opened his eyes to see Kate staring at him in amusement and annoyance wondering why she was stopped.

"Won't to see something really cool?" Castle said after a minute putting his hand behind him reaching for something.

"What a new app on your phone?" Kate said smiling cheekily

"No" He said pulling a gun out of the back of his pants ad showing her. It was a Glock 19 the exact same as hers. She grabbed the gun by instinct and held it thinking it was her own. She felt to her pocket where _her_ gun actually was, this was a different gun in her hands. She looked up at Rick with an angry look on her face.

"How did you get this?" She said full of rage and anger

"The Mayor says I can have around me when im on the job now to protect myself because of how many gun fights I get into these days" He says snatching it back of her with the same amount of anger, with the hint of amusement at her reaction.

She rolled her eyes at him smiling "You wouldn't get into so many gun fights if you listened to me and stayed in the car and out of the way"

"Touché" he said smiling at her putting his gun back into the back of his pants, making sure the safety was on first.

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><p><em><strong>Review if you can please it's my first time writing about these too<strong>_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

When they got back to the precinct they started to set up the murder board with what they knew, she died between the hours of 5am and 7am, no identification on the body and died from a puncture wound in the stomach from a spear. Beckett couldn't help but let out an amused puff of air, Rick looked over at her with an eyebrow raised as in to say 'what'.

"Oh it's nothing" Kate said looking at him. He still didn't believe her and kept staring at her in question. "It's just that this has happened before, not with 'The Hunger Games' but with your books"

"I know, that's how we met remember?" He said slyly, smirking

"That's right and you said you'd be happy to let me spank you" she said also smirking

"The offer still stands detective"

She rolled her eyes and looked away to not show her blushing. Kate's phone rang and her caller ID said it was Lanie "Lanie…. Hmmmhmm… Ok be there in 30 minutes" She said closing her phone and picking up her jacket. "Laine's got something for us" Kate said as she walked to the elevator. With that Rick got up quickly and followed her to the elevator. When the elevators doors closed he dared to push his luck a little more, he already got away with putting his hand on her shoulder and not getting slapped, he lightly touched his hand to hers and left it there. She didn't move, she kept it there, she knew what he was doing it on purpose but she didn't mind. Honestly, she loved the little touches they shared every-now-and-again. When the elevator door opened to the lobby and Kate had to walk away and loose that little touch they had, she felt a little depressed, although she would never let it show.

The got to the ME's lab and walked in on Esposito and Lanie having an argument.

"Oh sorry is this a bad time?" Castle said after a minute of standing there watching awkwardly

"No" Lanie and Espo said at the same time. They looked at each other than back at their friends, Espo walked out after a minute nodding towards Beckett and castle as in to say 'goodbye'. They nod back as well.

"Okay" Castle said awkwardly "anyway what have you got for us Lanie?"

"Oh right" Lanie said snapping back into reality and circling the table with the little girl on it. "Like I said at the crime scene, she died from the puncture wound of the spear on the table, now we were able to get some prints of the spear and the lab is running them now. It also looks like she put up a fight from the bruises on her arms and the hand print on her face where she must have been slapped but I found something interesting on the spear too" She said starting to walk over to the table with the spear on it "you may want to look at this"

Kate and castle walked up to the spear also and looked down to it. Lanie grabbed the big microscope and pulled it over the head of the spear. Kate looked down to try and find what Lanie was pointing out; Castle looked just over the shoulder of her shoulder breathing on her neck. She had to hold back a sigh that was threatening to escape when she felt his hot breath on her skin; she looked up at him trying to pretend to be irritated, and gave him a glare. He completely ignored it and pointed to, the blunt end, of the head of the spear.

"Look at that" he said "It says 'Property of Marvel'"

"That's who killed rue in the book" Beckett said quickly standing up and looking at her partner

"But that doesn't make sense if the murder is playing by the book" castle started

"Then why does he do a death that's half way through"

"Maybe because his doing the most important deaths first"

"Then going on to the less important ones"

"And that means whoevers next"

"Is the next most important kill" Kate ended.

"You too do know how often you finish each other's sentences right?" Lanie said after a minute of looking at the two partners stare at each other.

Just as Kate was about to answer Rick's phone rang and he went into a different room to take the call.

"So how are you and writer-boy doing?" Lanie asks once she knows castle can't hear anymore

"Good why?" Kate asks trying to sound innocent.

Lanie just rolls her eyes, "Girl you know what I mean when I say 'how you doing'"

"Lanie…."

"No Kate, you need to tell him soon or he will start pushing away"

"I know but it's not a good time right no-"

"It's never a good time with you" Lanie said crossing her arms over her chest "You have read the book that this weirdo is basing his murders on and you know how the book ends"

"Yes but in the end they do live" Kate says mater-of-factually

"Yes but they do almost die and since this is the real world you will never know the outcome" Lanie said just before Castle walked back in with a huge smile on his face

"Hot date tonight, Castle?" Kate said noticing the smile

"If you call you, me and a couple of writers playing poker tonight then yes"

"And when did I agree to this?"

"Just then because one of the writers is Suzanne Collins and you never miss a chance to beat me" He said looking at her still smiling like a little kid that got a lollipop.

"How did you- you know what never mind im not even going to ask" She said rolling at her eyes still wondering how he could get her to come to poker. She sighed and rubbed her forehead "What time do I have to be there?"

"Be at mine by 7 tonight" Castle said as he walked out of the room and closed the doors. Kate looked at her friend and saw the cheeky, wicked grin on her face. She gave her that look as if to say 'Oh shut up' and started to walk out of the room herself. When she got into the elevator to go down she couldn't help but smile, she wasn't actually going on a date with Castle but she could beat him and make him look like a fool in front of his writer friends.


	3. Chapter 3

****_**A/N: Ok 2 quick things**_

___**1: This is placed after the kiss they shared but before the funeral so Kate hasn't been shot (YAY) but is still with Josh (BOO)**_

_**2: You will not see any swearing in this because I do not swear, never have, never want to (most likely will)**_

_**ok hope you enjoy this chapter and i shall post either tomorrow or the next day cause I'm on school holidays, ok enjoy! :)**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

_**Castle's Loft**_

"I fold" Suzanne Collins says as she puts down her cards and looks up at everybody.

"I fold as well" James says also throwing down his cards

"Well it's just me and you _Kate_" Rick says as he looks at Kate with a grin on his face. "Haven't we been in this situation before?"

"Feeling brave are we _Rick_" Kate says more of a statement then a question. "I believe we have and if im not mistaken I won" She says looking at him smirking, staring into his eyes

"The first time you did yes, but if _I'm _not mistaken then I won the second time"

"You keep telling yourself that _Ricky_" She said as she patted him on the cheek with one hand "All in" Kate says looking at him in the eyes "Not afraid of a little action _again_ are we Ricky?"

"No" he said "How about you?"

"Oh trust me Rick I am not afraid of action when it comes to you" She said getting a little closer so he could feel her hot breath on his mouth, using her so called _flirtatious _tone. He swallowed a huge lump that was in his throat and tried not to give in and look at her lips, he failed. She saw his eyes wander down to her lips for just a second then shoot back up to her eyes. She just smirked

"Oh I like her" Michael says smiling at the two and pointing towards Kate, "She's not afraid to play dirty"

"Ok _Katie_, let's play. All in" he said

They both flip there cards over not looking at them for a second as they keep staring into each other's eyes. They both pulled back a little and looked at each other's cards

"3 of a kind" Kate says looking down at his cards smirking "I thought you would have had a better hand than that"

"You also have 3 of a kind and you thought my hand would be better?" Rick says looking up at her questionably "But who has higher cards?"

"Three 9's"

"Three Jack's" Rick says looking at her smirking "Looks like you take the pot Beckett"

"Beckett? Not feeling as brave as before now are we Castle" She says smiling looking at him then over at the poker chips on the table, taking them all.

"Since you just whipped my buttocks, no"

"Shouldn't you be used to that Castle?" She says smirking with one eye-brow propped up. She heard a round of applause and shouting of encouragement beside her.

"You whipping me? No but I could if you started too" He said wiggling his eye-brows at her, he started to her applause being given to him and rounds of laughter at his come back. He loved these little moments between the two of them, how they would flirt and tease. He saw a slight blush start to come up on her cheeks, '_What was she thinking about? Her time with Josh?'_ She couldn't be thinking about him, not how bright that blush is getting. '_Get that thought out of your head Kate.' _Is all she could think at that moment, she couldn't believe that that had popped into her head in the first place.

"Anyway Suzanne" he started changing the topic "What would you say was the most important death in 'The Hunger Games' book one? Other than Rue's of course."

"Why do you want to know that?" Suzanne said "You don't think I had anything to do with the murder do you?"

"Of course not we- wait how do you know about the murder?" Kate asked with a confusing look on her face, pointing towards her.

"Oh please detective I know people too" She said smiling

"Montgomery" Castle and Beckett say at the same time looking at each other. "We don't think you're involved we just need to know who the next most important death is so we know who he's going to kill next" Kate says

"Oh well hmmmm let me think" she says tapping her chin "First Rue, like we've established, then I would say Cato and then probably Glimmer, because that's when she got her bow, but I want go any further cause I have faith you two will find the killer before the fourth murder"

"But why not the big death battle at the start?"

"Because if I was writing a story on this, I would save the more deaths for last, especially if I'm new to killing people." She said with a nod of her head to the other writers at seeing their approval of how they would also do their stories

"So this killer is doing the same thing" Castle started looking towards Beckett

"As they were doing when you joined"Beckett kept going also turning to Castle

"But this time there more of an expert"

"Because they even got the right type of flowers"

"So were looking for expert on the books"

"That also has a connection with the girl" Kate finished doing the same thing they did in the morgue today. She turned to Suzanne "Has there been any really crazy fans at your book signings recently?"

"There's always crazy fans there" Suzanne said "But the little girl that died did she look like rue, like a lot like her?"

"Yeah almost a complete copy why?"

"She came to my book signing last week; I believe her name was Saylissa Robinson"

"How do you remember their names?" Castle asks looking at her with a confused face

"Oh we do a check list at the door, we had to right everyone's name down so they all got a free ticket to see the premier of the movie" Suzanne said

Beckett looked over to castle with a hopeful glint in her eye, then turned back "Do you think we could have a copy of that list?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_**12**__**th**__** Precinct**_

Kate was just sitting down at her desk watching her monitor doing background research on Saylissa Robinson's family and friends. Rick was sitting beside her in his usual chair playing angry birds, kind of, he mainly just sat there and stared at Kate. She could feel his eyes on her but chose to ignore him for a little while, after about 10 minutes of this she threatened to give him paperwork so he started to actually play his game. Just then Kate's phone rang.

"Beckett" she answered, castle moved closer to her head to hear the conversation. He still didn't understand why she didn't put it on speaker phone.

"Yo, boss we got a hit on the family they live at…" there was a long pause and some rustling around on the other end "47th Bridgedale road"

"Thanks Espo"

"Keep us posted"

"Will do" she said as she hung up the phone and turned her head towards Castle to tell him what was up. When she turned her face was only a couple of centimetres from each other. They looked at each other in the eyes, like they usually did, and just sat there for a minute looking. "Uh… we…uh" Kate said mumbling

"We got to go to 47 Bridgedale road?" He said raising an eyebrow in question smirking at her for being able to distract her so easily

"Yes" she said as she started to get up of her chair on pull on her coat, for some reason it was a black leather jacket today and she picked up a helmet.

"Umm Beckett?" Castle started as they walked to the elevator. She just hummed in response so she showed she was listening. "Why do you have a helmet with you?"

"Oh well I had to drop my car of in the shop this morning so I got my motor bike with me" She said as she pressed the button and looked up at him. He had a huge grin on his face, "What?"

"Oh, it's just that I finally get to see you on your bike" He said wiggling his eyebrows. Just as the doors close to the elevator he thought of something that puzzled him. "Wait how are we going to get to the house then?"

"Well either you hold on or you take a cab" she said smiling "Honestly I'd much rather you just grab the cab"

"Don't want me to hold you Beckett? Afraid you might like it?"

She gave her best eye-roll and started to walk out towards her motorbike. It was a GS 1000G Suzuki. It was a deep blue colour and looked like it had been polished recently. Castles mouth opened in awe at the sight of the motor bike, he had been trying to get one for ages but could never find one.

"Where did you get that Beckett?" he asked still standing there in awe

"Oh I inherited it from my grandfather a couple of years back" she said smirking at the way he was standing there. She swung one leg over the bike and sat there for a moment watching castle to see what he would do. He just stood there, watching her and when she swung her leg over you could almost see his eyes pop out of his head. "Castle, close your mouth you don't want flies and are you coming with me or are you getting a cab?"

Regaining his composure and straightening up he said "I'm coming with you but can I drive?"

"Castle I won't let you drive my car why would I let you drive my motorcycle?"

"I'll do anything you want for a week if you let me drive, I do mean anything. I'll even leave if you tell me to go. Please Beckett can I drive?" He said with a pleading tone and walked up to her with his hands together in a begging sort of way.

"Anything I want?" She said looking at him and tapping her finger on her chin

"Yes anything, I don't even have to drive back just there, Please Kate"

She looked at him with a little bit of surprise, he didn't use her first name that often, only when he really wanted something. He now had his puppy dog face on, she hated that face, she couldn't say no to that face. She sighed rubbing her forehead; she was totally going to regret this. "Fine Castle you can drive but only this once unless I say otherwise deal?"

"Deal!" He said lighting up like a kid on Christmas. He didn't think she was going to say yes but was so happy when she did. He grabbed the extra helmet that was attached to the bar at the end of the bike and placed it on his head. Kate moved back a bit so he could be in front, she then realised something. She had to hold on to him for a twenty minute ride! She sighed at herself for not thinking this beforehand, but had already agreed to it so she just went with it. She put her own helmet on and waited for Castle to start the bike before she actually grabbed around his waist.

He grinned when she did this, he wasn't even thinking about it until she put her arms around him. He looked back at her with a smile on his face. "You ready?"

"Ready" she said in the strongest voice she could. She wasn't sure that he knew how to handle it. They took off slowly coming out of the precinct and turning into traffic and then speeding of down the sides of other vehicles. Kate was clutching on to rick really tightly for some reason, he couldn't figure out why. Surely she had been on tones of rides with her farther or grandfather. Kate also didn't know why she was clutching on so tightly, maybe it was because this was her second time behind someone and not actually driving. She hadn't been riding with Josh yet, they didn't have the time. When they stopped at a light Rick looked back quickly at Kate. "You alright back there? You're holding on pretty tight"

"Yeah just only second time I haven't been driving, well that some ones been driving me" She said as she loosened her grip a little and looked up at him, pink faintly shoeing on her cheeks. Rick couldn't believe what he was hearing but let it go anyway.

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><p><em><strong>Esposito's car<strong>_

"Is that Beckett and Castle?" Ryan said pointing out the window at the two on the bike waiting at the lights

"So Mum and Dad went for a little joy ride?" Espo said smirking "Oh wait, no they got to go to the family's house and talk to them"

"Then why is Castle driving Beckett's bike? She doesn't even let me touch it"

"I don't know" Espo said plainly and took out his phone as they were taking off "But im going to text Beckett and see what she has to say about this"

"Wait!" Ryan said grabbing Esposito's phone out of his hand "I have a better idea" He said now smirking at his partner

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><p><em><strong>AN: Ok I don't know what motorbike she actually has(in the tv show) but thats the one im going to get when i'm older so its the first that popped into my head and if theres a better choice I could have chosen then I apologize. Anyway hope you enjoyed it, will post ASAP**_

___**-Amy**_** :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N: I am so sorry for the huge delay, my computer broke and i had to go get it fixed :( I promise i will post soon at the latest i will post friday. Again sorry for the delay but i do hope you like this chapter :)_**

******  
><strong>_**-Amy**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

Castle and Beckett walked up to the front door and stopped just before it. They didn't like what they had to do; they had to ask a mother who has just lost her daughter, about her daughter. Kate looked over at Rick with a bit of hesitation at knocking on the door. He just gave her a reassuring smile and put his hand up to knock on the door. They waited outside for a minute thinking no-one must be home, as they were about to turn and leave a woman from the inside yelled telling them she would be there in a second. Kate and Castle turned back to the door and stood there until a lady came out. She had long, straight, red hair and a blue sundress on with an apron covering the bottom half of her body.

"May I help you?" The lady asked in a sweet and friendly tone looking at the two people in front of her.

"Miss Robinson is it?" Kate asked looking at the lady

"Please call me Angela" She said as she shook Kate and Rick's hand

"Hello, I am detective Kate Beckett and this is my partner…"

"Richard Castle" Castle interrupted as Kate was finishing her sentence. "Where here to talk to you about your daughter Saylissa"

"Oh is something wrong officer's?" Angela asked worried, looking between the two people in front of her

"You mean you haven't heard yet?" Kate asked looking at the woman in astonishment that she had not heard about her own daughter's death

"Heard about what?"

"I think this would be easier to tell you inside" Rick said softly "May we come in?"

"Oh of course, where are my manners" She said as she led them into her house and towards the lunge room "Please sit"

"Thank you" They said in unison before becoming quite again and taking a seat. They sat on the long lounge chair as Angela sat on the single seater across from it. The house was nice, a couple of nick-knack's on the shelves on walls, nice brown walls with a window on the left one, and plush couches seats that made you bounce slightly after sitting down.

"Well if you excuse me I might go and get some refreshments" Angela said standing up from the couch and walking down a hallway that must lead to the kitchen. Once she was out of ear shot Rick turned to Kate and gave a sad expression her way.

"We have to tell her about her own daughter's death?" Rick said in a whisper

"I am afraid so Castle" Kate also said in a whisper

"Let me do it then"

"But…."

"Kate please" Castle said grabbing one of her hands "I have seen you do this many times and I would like to try it myself, please"

Not really wanting to have a fight in someone else's house, she sighed and nodded her head to tell him he could do it. He looked at her and gave her a sad smile mixed with happiness for her trusting him and sadness for what he was about to do to this poor woman. Rick let go of his hand and looked down the hallway just in time to see Angela carrying a tray of refreshments with her. Butterscotch cookies and tea fancy but appropriate in some ways, Angela placed the tray on the little tea table and sat back down at her chair elegantly. The woman waited there watching the detective and writer in front of her thinking they were both cops. Castle took in a deep breath before he started

"Angela, where do you believe Saylissa is right now?"

"She should be at her friend Helen's house; she should be home any minute now. Why do you ask?" Angela asked starting to worry

"Angela I must inform you that Detective Beckett is a homicide detective and we….." he couldn't finish the sentence he had to stop and regain himself. Kate saw this and grabbed the hand on his knee and held it there for support, almost telling him he could do this. He looked at her and smiled, thanking her for being there. He took a deep breath and turned back to the red headed woman sitting in front of them. "We are sorry to inform you that your daughter, Saylissa, is dead"

They woman looked up at him in shock and then started to shake her head as tears started to swell in her eyes. She kept muttering to herself '_no, this can't be true; it isn't, no' _for a few minutes until she had no tears left to shed. She looked up to the cops, her eyes red and puffy from crying, she gave them a small nod as in to say she understands. "Thank you for telling me this before someone else did. How did she die?"

"She was found in the park covered in flowers with a spear beside her" Kate added the last part hesitantly. Angela nodded then smiled to herself at a memory of her daughter, Kate and Rick looked at each other in confusion over the smile and turned back to the woman

"At least she died how she wanted too" Angela said barley above a whisper

"If you don't mind me asking, what do you mean?" Rick said softly in a calm and cool voice to try and not upset this woman anymore

"After she read the first book in _The Hunger Games_ series, she said if she died at a young age she would want to go like Rue did, with the flowers all around her and in her hands. I promised her we would bury her like that if that were to happen not thinking it ever would"

"Ok if you don't mind we have a few more questions for you" Rick said turning to Kate who just nodded her head in response. Angela also nodded her head and answered all questions the two detectives had as best as she could. When they were done Rick and Kate stood up and shook her hand thanking her for her cooperation and headed out the front door. When they got back to the motorbike Kate whipped out her phone and dialled Esposito's number asking for the friends address and ID's.

"Thanks Espo I'll talk to you when we get back to the precinct" Kate said into the phone

"No problem boss just don't hold onto castle to tight, we don't want to break him" Esposito said on the other end grinning like a wicked cat

"I won't" she said just before she hung up. When she put the phone in front of her she realised what she had just said and cursed to herself.

"The boys saw us" she said to Castle, who was already leaning on the motorbike "The saw me holding onto you on the motorbike"

Castle eyes went wide in shock "We are never going to live this down are we?"

"Nope" Kate said as she climbed onto the front of the motorbike and put her helmet on "but at least this time if they catch us again, you'll be the one holding on"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Kate was sitting down at her desk looking through some paper work, with Castle beside her playing a game on his phone. She looked over to him to try and work out what game he was playing, he had been laughing at the game every now and again. She kicked his foot with her foot, his head shot up to look at her and she just eyed him, she pushed up one of her eyebrows and looked from him to the phone. He understood almost immediately and held up the phone to the main menu. She rolled her eyes at the game looking down with a small smile. Rick also smiled and looked back down to his game thinking it was funny how Beckett, his 'boss' in a sense, thought it was funny to be playing '_Kick the Boss' _.

Just then Esposito and Ryan entered the precinct and walked up to them both grinning like mad men. Beckett didn't even need to look up from her desk to tell they were grinning. Esposito was about to say something, but Kate cut in and pointed a pen at them still not looking up.

"Shut it you two, we didn't have a choice" Kate said now pulling her head up from where she was looking down

"Sure you had a choice Becks, you could have got a cab" Espo pointed out looking at her still smiling

The thought hadn't even occurred to her to have gotten a cab. She instinctively went straight to her vehicle and didn't worry about it. "What? And leave my bike here for you two to drawl over" she huffed "please"

"Oh come on we don't even know which one is yours" Ryan said "But if I had to guess I'd say the red one?"

"Nope the blue one" she said smiling at them. They both just stood there with their mouths hanging open looking at her, she had to put a hand over her mouth to stop from laughing. Castle just looked at the two and grinned at their expressions. "Really boys, it's no big deal"

"Your joking aren't you?" Ryan said still in shock "It's actually the red one isn't it"

"You guys saw us on the bike today, so shouldn't you have already known the colour?" Rick said

"We were to busy looking at Beckett cling on to you to worry about the bike" Esposito said. Kate groaned in response knowing she would never live this down.

"We made a deal" Rick said after hearing her groan

"Which was?"

"I do whatever she says for a week is what we agreed right?"

"Right" Beckett said grinning at the possibilities. She had the power to make him come dressed for work in an elf costume if she wanted to. She bit her bottom lip at that image popping in her head. Rick, Esposito and Ryan looked at her in confusion trying to figure out what she was thinking.

"What's up Beckett?" Rick said looking at her "Thinking of something you would like to share?"

"I was just thinking of what you'd look like in tights" she said smiling at him cheekily. His eyes almost popped out of his head at what she said and that was the last straw for her, she started to crack up laughing at his expression of what she said. When she finally calmed down enough to breathe properly her phone started to ring.

"Beckett" she answered with Rick immediately sitting closer to her to listen in, "mhhhm…. Ok… we'll be there soon" she said as she hung up the phone and turned to Castle "We got a body"

"Like Saylissa's or different?" He said as he stood up and grabbed his coat

"I don't know, they didn't tell me" She said as she grabbed her coat and headed for the elevator. They waited for the elevator, once in the elevator Castle turned to Kate opening his mouth to speak then closing it again furrowing his eyebrows in thought. "What's up Castle?"

"Just wondering why you were thinking of me in tights" He said

"I was thinking of making you wear an elf suit to work tomorrow is all" She said looking at him smiling

"Oh well that's alright no-one but my mother and Alexis see me when im working" He said automatically. He just stood there for a minute before he realised what he said. She had a little frown on her face after what he said and just stood there in silence for a while, until the door opened to let them into the lobby.

"So how are we getting there this time?" Castle asked as they walked towards the precinct car park

"You should take a cab, I have to think" she said as she climbed onto her motorbike, putting her helmet on and driving away. He just stood there for a moment watching where she had just driven past, regretting what he said in the elevator. He hailed a cab and got ready for what would be a long afternoon.

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><p><em><strong>AN: Thank you for the good reviews and sorry again for the wait before but i will post ASAP if possible cause I have 2 assignments to work on now so might not be as frequent**_

_**-Amy :)  
><strong>_


	7. Chapter 7

****_**A/N: Hi guys and girls im sorry it took long but I had to re-write this a couple of times cause the first time I did Beckett got into a car crash so, yeah anyway hope you enjoy and tell me what you think if you have time!**_

_**ps She wasn't mad at him she was sad (as you will see in this)  
><strong>_

_**pps Sorry if i got Cato's hair colour wrong but im pretty sure it's blonde right?  
><strong>_

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

He got out of the cab with two hot coffees in his hand and paid the driver. He walked up over to Lanie and the boys, looking around for Beckett. He smiled at them and looked down towards the body that stood before them. It was a boy about 17 years old with golden blonde hair that had dirt through it; he looked like he had been mewled by an animal, perhaps a wolf, and had an arrow sitting out the side of his head. There was a pool of blood around him as well as little chunks of flesh. He looked back up to Lanie, Esposito and Ryan quirking his eyebrow up at them questionably.

"Where's Beckett?" He said looking around again.

"I thought she was with you" Lanie said looking a little concerned

"She probably just got held up in traffic or had to fill up the bike"

"Wait, she has her bike today?"

"Yeah she didn't tell you?"

"No but anyways" Lanie said now recalling her phone call with Beckett, "What's wrong with Kate?"

"I don't know first she was happy and saying she was going to make me wear an elf costume to….." Castle started trying to track back to where it had gone wrong

"Wait! What?" Esposito said looking at Castle in confusion trying his hardest not to laugh, "Did you just say that Beckett was going to make you wear an elf costume to the precinct"

"She said to work and I said it was alright because only Alexis and Mother see me at work, then she just, kinda, seemed upset" Castle said looking down at the coffee cups that were getting slightly colder in his hands. He looked back up at the three people in front of him, all of them were frowning and all of them were shaking their heads at him. "What? What did I say?"

"Dude if you don't know in the next 10 seconds why she's upset with you, you can just leave" Esposito said crossing his arms over his chest

"But…."

"10"

Castle looked at him in confusion then went back over what he had said. _9_. He kept thinking trying to figure it out. _8_. 'Ok so there was a thing about the elf costume'. _7_. 'And the look of surprise on my face'. _6. _'Then she said she would make me wear it to work'. _5_. 'Then I said it was ok because only Alexis and Mother see me at work'. _4_. 'That's when she started to look really upset'. _3._ 'Then….' A show of sudden realisation dawned on to his face. Espo smiled at him when he saw this and stopped counting down, happy that he finally understood what he said wrong.

Kate was watching this scene unfold from behind a cop car, when she saw the look on Castle's face, she smiled that he had realised what had upset her so badly. How could he think that the precinct wasn't work? She had to remind herself again that he wasn't a cop that he only volunteered to be there. He saw him start to hand her coffee over to Ryan so she walked away from behind the cop car and walked straight through the middle of Castle and Ryan smiling cheekily as she grabbed the cup from his grasp and took a sip of it.

"What have I told you about giving away my coffee Castle?" Beckett said turning towards him giving him a questioning look.

"Well, I… Ah…. Didn't know how long you would be and it was starting to get cold so I gave it to him" Castle said pointing towards Detective Ryan.

"Lanie what do we have?" Kate said looking down at the boy on the ground. Lanie shot her a questioning glance, Kate just gave her a smile reassuring she would tell her later when castle wasn't around.

"Well it looks like he has been mulled. By what animal im not sure but by the looks of it, it was the arrow in his neck that killed him; we also found this note on the body addressed to you and Castle" Lanie said handing Kate a not that had drops of blood on it and seemed to have an impression of a bird on it. It was the Mockingjay bird like on the pin Katniss where's. She looked up at Castle to make sure she was right; he nodded his head and moved closer towards her to take a look at the note as well. She took a deep breath then opened the note to read it.

_May the odds be ever in your favour!_

_Signed admirer of Hunger Games and Nikki Heat_

The looked down at the not again, reading it over and over.

"She's wishing us luck on finding her?" Castle said looking at Beckett trying to find an answer

"_She?_ Why she?" Beckett said giving back the note to Lanie so she could run it through the scanner to look for prints

"Well look at the hand writing, have you ever seen a males handwriting that perfect and slanted? That and there's also the fact that there is a hair on the body"

"What where?"

"Right there, tweezers please Lanie" Castle said. Lanie reluctantly gave him the tweezes, he looked down again at the body and used the tweezers to pick up a single black hair that was in one of the bite marks and showed it to everyone. The strand was about as long as Beckett's hair but not as thin. Lanie held open an evidence bag as Castle put the hair in for the close inspection and DNA tests. He gave back the tweezers and smiled brightly towards the group, happy that he was the only one who had spotted it.

"Nice find Castle" Beckett said with a smile then looked back at Lanie "Do we have any idea who our John Doe is?"

"Not yet the face is to beaten up to tell but as soon as I hear you will"

"Ok thanks' Lanie" She said smiling at her friend then turning away back to her bike. Castle quickly followed her, stopping her at her bike and made her turn around. He gave her a smile and apologetic look.

"Beckett im sorry for not thinking the precinct was work I wasn't…." He started to apologize to her but she interrupted him.

"Castle its fine and you don't have to apologize this isn't your work; writing is your work and im sorry if I made you think otherwise. Any way you want a ride or are you going to get a cab?" She said smiling at the end of the sentence as she put her coffee in its holder and started to put her helmet on

"Actually I got to do something before I come back to the precinct so I will meet you there" He said smiling at her, she had no idea what he was doing and he loved it. It would benefit the case greatly and hopefully, help them find there killer. He had that mischievous glint in his eyes and Beckett eyed him worriedly but shrugged it off thinking if he got into trouble then he would call her, hopefully.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Castle came walking into the precinct with a suspect in handcuffs. He handed him over to the police officer waiting by the elevator and told him to put the suspect in interrogation room 1. The officer looked at Castle strangely then shrugged and took the suspect with him. Castle then turned and walked over to Beckett's desk, Kate had heard the footsteps coming and looked up to smile at the person walking to her desk. When she saw his face her look turned from a happy expression to a look of concern.

"Castle, what happened?" Kate said while getting up and walking to him grabbing his face. She inspected his bloody, bruised nose, his jaw, a huge bruise on the side of his face from where he had been hit and a black eye.

"Ow Beckett, be careful that hurts" Castle said in a whining tone but moving his head where Kate wanted it.

"What the hell happened Castle?"

"I was tailing a suspect and her boyfriend when they must have noticed me and led me down an alley way. They stopped me and asked me what I was doing following them, I went for my badge and…."

"Wait, you have a badge?"

"Do you want to know how I got my face like this," he said gesturing to his face with his hand "or do you want to know how I got the badge?"

"First face, then badge"

"Ok anyway, the boyfriend must have thought I was going for a weapon and punched me in the nose, then turned around and told his girlfriend to run. I recovered quickly got up and hit him in the jaw, you should probably have that checked by the way, and he mashed me in the side of the face also. After about 10 minutes of wrestling I was able to get my handcuffs on him and show him my badge and now here we are" Castle ended finally and put a hand to his jaw, talking made his jaw ache.

"Ok we've got that down now, how did you get a badge and handcuffs?" Kate said looking up to him and crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a questioning look.

"I'll give you one clue. He…"

"Montgomery" Kate said sighing. Castle pouted at her, not being able to play the guessing game.

"You're too smart for your own good you know?" He said "Now can we go interrogate a suspect or will we wait?"

"We'll interrogate him now then will get Lanie to check out his jaw and your face" Kate said as she picked up the file that was sitting on her desk. As they walked over to the interrogation room Kate stopped just before the door and turned to Castle. "I should probably go in alone since you two have a bad relationship now."

Castle pouted at the statement but nodded his head anyway and walked into the observation room. Kate sighed and opened the door to the room.

"I'm detective Kate Beckett and who might you be?" Kate asked in a stern voice as she threw the folder on the desk and sat down opposite the man. He had dark brown hair and green eyes. His face looked like it had been hit by a baseball bat numerous amounts of times and his lip was bleeding a bit.

"I'm Officer Nathaniel Broksen" The man said looking at her.

"Right you are…" Kate said then quickly looked down into her folder for the name "Helena's boyfriend"

"That is correct detective and might I ask, what am I doing here and why was I being followed?"

"I'll be asking the questions Mr Broksen. Now how did you meet Helena?"

"At a party, why is that relevant?"

"How long have you two been dating?" Kate said wiping away his question

"About a year" Nathaniel said giving up on trying to ask questions

"Where were you yesterday at the hours of 3 and 5am?"

"I was at a club with Helena"

"Can anyone vouch for you other than you girlfriend?"

"Yes, the bartender and my friends"

"Ok and do you know this young man?" Kate said sliding a pick of the John Doe they found earlier that day. Nathaniel's eyes went wide when he saw the picture of the young man and looked up to Kate in confusion.

"Yes his Helena's brother James, why what happened to him?"

"He was found this morning down an alley murdered"

"Oh god" He said lifting his hands to rub his eyes but realising they were still handcuffed to the table stopped. He sighed and looked up to Kate with sad eyes, "I'm sorry detective I can't help you, although you should be able to find him on the police data base. I had to arrest him a couple of times for disorderly conduct"

"Thank you Officer Broksen" Kate said grabbing the picture and files and standing up, walking towards the door. She stopped when she heard the Officer start to speak again.

"Oh by the way Detective, you should probably check out the abandoned building James usually hangs out at" Nathaniel said with a smile trying not to look like he was terrified of the women in front of him. He knew who she was and he did not want to get on her bad side.

Kate nodded and exited the room finding Castle standing beside the door with a coffee waiting for her. She smiled at him, grabbed the cup and walked over to her desk sitting down and starting to type.

"So are we going to check out that abandoned building or will we wait until tomorrow?" Castle said sitting beside her on his normal chair.

"First we're going to get Lanie to check you over then we'll go" Kate said turning to her left and picking up her phone to call Lanie.

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><p><em><strong>AN: Ok so i promised action but how much action i want to put in it will have to wait for the next chapter and thank you for all of the great reviews and i will always post no later than a week. Yeah anyway hoped you enjoyed this chapter and if you have time write me a review and answer me this, how old do you guys think i am? I have been wondering for a while.**_

_**-Amy :)  
><strong>_


	9. Chapter 9

****_**A/N: I am SO sorry for the long wait but school has literally taken over my life and I had no spare time, so I hope you guys can forgive me and thankyou for staying with me.  
><strong>_

_**Also shout out to 66000 as you asked for romance and always give me good reviews I put something special in the start of this, not real big romance as it is an action chapter but as much as I could put in.  
><strong>_

_**Thanyou all again for the wonderful reviews I get and if you have time please review as well but you don't have to, I don't mind :)  
><strong>_

_**-Amy  
><strong>_

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><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

Castle and Kate were walking out the front of the warehouse. It looked old and abandoned with all the smashed windows and bared doors. They heard a noise a little too the left of them and quickly ducked behind a shipping container. Kate looked around the corner to where the noise had come from and saw 2 men guarding a door. She groaned and hit her head on the container, she could take down two guys at once, she had done it many times before, but with Castle here it would be much harder. He looked at her questionably then around the corner at the two men. He looked at her with a mischievous grin on his face.

"What?" Kate asked with an eyebrow raised

"I have an idea but you have to trust me, do you trust me?" Castle said looking into her eyes for any doubt

"Absolutely" She said without an ounce of hesitation.

"Good then give me your gun" He said smiling with his hand stretched out toward her. She gave him a questioning look but gave him her gun anyway. He pulled out her ammo and put it in his back pocket replacing it with another round of ammo. She didn't understand, the bullets looked the exact same as her own. She put it back in her holster that was on her right hip.

"Ok now, were going to have to act drunk and when I whisper 'now' in your ear you shoot the guy on the left and I'll shoot the one on the right"

"Won't that kill them?" Kate asked not even worrying about having to act drunk.

"You said you trusted me" He stated

"I do, but…"

"Good now come on and lets go" he said wrapping his arm around her waist "Oh and make sure to only hit them in the shoulder or arm"

She just nodded, they had done this not a few days ago but it was an odd comfort having his arm around her. She felt a flitter in her stomach but pushed it aside to focus. Who knew you had to focus to act drunk? They started to walk slowly over to the door, stumbling slightly to make it more believable.

Castle was happy she didn't say no to him, he wanted Kate to trust him. He kissed the side of her face, making them look like a drunken couple. She stopped for a second and he got worried that he had pushed the boundaries, but when she started walking again he gave an inward sigh. The two men started walking closer to them. 'Why did this all look so familiar?' he thought. His mind went back a few days and he realised why, that had been the night when they had first kissed to distract a guard. He found himself wondering what it would be like to kiss her again. He had an idea but knew she would probably slap him for doing it. The guards were getting closer and he had to make up his mind right now.

He nudged her and she looked at him. Before she could ask what's wrong he had caught her lips in his. She was shocked for a second but soon responded, she didn't understand why he was kissing her she just enjoyed the feeling of his lips against hers again. To say it was a simple kiss, would be an understatement but to say they were making out, was an overstatement. It was somewhere in between the two of them, it wasn't tender but it wasn't hot and messy either. He grabbed her right hand from around his neck and placed it on her gun. Her eyes shot open and instantly connected with his. When had her eyes closed? His lips started to trail from her mouth to her ear. She let out a soft gasp when he touched a sensitive spot.

"Now" he whispered into her ear. He pulled back and shot the guy on the right in the shoulder. Kate was hesitant at first trying to make her mind work again, but recovered quickly, pulled out her gun and shot the guy on the left in the shoulder as well. The two men dropped to the ground instantly and laid there motionless. She turned back to Castle with an eyebrow raised.

"I'm so sorry Kate, please don't hit me. I don't know what came over me, I'm so…." Castle started to apologize, re-holstering his gun and putting his hands out in front of him defensively. She raised her hand up dismissively.

"Castle its fine" She said putting her gun back in its holster. She looked down at the two bodies in front of them. "What did we do to them?"

"The bullets I gave you are tranquilizers. I am allowed to have a gun but not real bullets and I thought they'd be safer than actually shooting the two of them" He said walking slowly to the bodies "There is enough in them to put them out for about 3 hours, without killing them"

"Ok then let's go inside" Kate said walking to the door, stepping carefully around the bodies. Castle followed her silently before having a sudden hit of realization. He grabbed her shoulder and spun her around; she was dazed for second but locked eyes with him and saw the smug, satisfied look on his face.

"You kissed me back" he stated

"To help distract the guards" She said as calmly as possible, hoping he wouldn't see that she actually enjoyed the kiss. She was meant to be with Josh for Christ sakes.

"No you started to kiss me back the second my lips hit yours. So either you thought I was someone else or you liked it"

"And what if I thought you were someone else?"

"But I know that's not true. You moaned my name in the kiss"

"WHAT? I did no such thing!" Kate almost yelled at him

"But you did and you gasped when I kissed just underneath your ear" Castle said with a smile brighter than any other she has ever seen. She bit her bottom lip to stop from blushing.

"Don't make me shoot you Castle" Kate said warningly as she walked closer to the door. "Now hurry up"

He got on the other side of the door and took his gun out just in case, she did the same. They shared a nod before slowly opening the door and walking in quietly. Kate looked around quietly to see if the coast was clear before nodding for Castle to come with her. They walked slowly and carefully before a bullet whizzed past her head, he automatically talked her to the ground behind a crate and stayed on top of her as more bullets went flying over their heads. Kate was stunned momentarily as he kept getting up and shooting then ducking back down close to her. Suddenly she felt an enormous amount of pain shoot up her leg; she groaned and pulled it up as much behind the box as she could.

"Get off me so I can help Castle!" She almost yelled at him wincing a bit. Castle looked down at her and followed her body with his eyes. He completely forgot he was on top of her after the shooting started over their heads.

"Right sorry" He said getting of her enough to let her go but not enough that he would get shot. He sat back against the box and watched her get up slowly to a sitting position; it was then that he noticed the blood stain on her paint legs. "Kate, your hurt." Worry covered his face as he stared at the wound

"I'm fine Castle just a little flesh wound" She said trying to convince herself more than him, she knew she would have to get it check out later but now wasn't the time to worry about it. She got onto her knees, wincing slightly at the pressure, and looked over the box slightly only to have to duck back down quickly as a bullet went flying over the top of her head. Castle had his legs out straight and Kate had one knee on both sides as she got her gun ready. He didn't really notice, he was still looking at the wound in her leg. "Castle help or stay out of the way" she said as she looked down at him again.

"But your leg….." he started as he looked up at her with concern in his eyes. "You shouldn't be putting pressure on it"

"I have to, how else are we going to get them?"

"You sit behind the crate and I'll shoot"

"Seriously Castle? I will not sit down and take this and I'm a better shot anyway"

"Fine then I'm going over to that other crate so we have more room" He said while slowly lifting one of her knees up and sliding his legs out under it. "Cover me and can I have some more ammo?" Kate handed him more ammo and shot a couple of rounds out while he ran to the other crate. She heard a loud groan and a thud like a body hitting the ground. She looked over to the other crate to see Castle sitting up beside the crate holding his shoulder.

"Castle, are you ok?" She yelled over to him

"Just a flesh wound I'm fine!" he yelled back. He was lying it hurt like crazy but he wasn't going to tell her that. If he did she might make him go back outside and call for help. Wait why hadn't they called for help? "Beckett I'm going to call for back-up!"

"Hurry!" Is all she could get in before they saw something thrown between them. They looked into each-other's eyes with scared expressions. Before Kate could even flinch, Castle had picked up the grenade and thrown it back towards the men. He ducked for cover just as it exploded. There were bits and pieces of crates everywhere, as well as a couple of men lying on the floor. She looked over to him with an amazed expression at how fast his reflexes were but then got worried when she didn't see him move. She was about to get up and run to him when she saw a figure on her right, out the corner of her eye. She turned quickly to see the boy grin at her, drop something on the floor and run back towards the door. She was about to run after him when she remembered Castle.

"Castle!" she yelled as she ran towards him and turned him over to see a gigantic gash in his left leg. "Castle!" she tried again when he wasn't moving. She slapped the side of his face a few times then saw his eyes start to flutter open.

"Kate" he replied looking at her through hazed eyes "I'm so tired"

"Don't go to sleep Castle just hang on" She pleaded with him putting pressure on his wound to try and stop the blood. He ground when she did, that hurt, that _really_ hurt. He was losing a lot of blood and didn't have much time and he knew it, so did she.

"What about the kid?" Rick asked as he had seen him before he left.

"Don't worry about him we need to get you to a hospital" Kate said. As if on cue she heard sirens in the background blazing. He was losing consciousness so she grabbed his hand and pleaded with him again, "Hold on Castle"

"Kate….." Was the last thing he spoke before she felt his body go limp.

"Castle!" She yelled.


	10. Chapter 10

****_**A/N: Apoligies people for the wait! I promise I'll write and post ASAP! Review is you feel like it, don't if you don't wanna**_

_**- Amy :) **_

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><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

Castle woke up groggily, with a searing pain in his leg. He blinked a few times to make the haze go away that was clouding his eyes. He looked around to see that he was in the hospital in a private room. He looked at the sleeping figure on his right and his face twisted into concern instantly. She had scratches all up her arms and on her face, she had a bandage wrapped around her leg that was soaked in blood at the front. He went to get up to make sure she was ok but groaned in pain when he tried to move his shoulder and leg. She heard the groan and stirred from her sleep, opening her eyes to find his blue ones filled with concern. She smiled at him and lent closer to the bed.

"Hey Castle" She said giving his hand a slight squeeze. He hadn't even realised she was holding it.

"Are you ok?" Was all he could say to her. She let out a slight laugh at him caring at her well-being more than his own, but was touched.

"Im fine Castle, how are you feeling?"

"Much better than I look I guess" He pulled on a tight smile at her and she just rolled her eyes.

"No pain?"

"Only when I move, but honestly Kate, shouldn't you be in one of these beds to?"

"Castle I'm fine ok"

"But your leg…." He started but was cut off by one of her warning looks she gave him when he was about to say something he wasn't meant to. He would usually ignore these looks but was in a hospital right now and didn't want to get hurt any more than necessary. He was about to say something else when Alexis and Martha walked in. The concern was evident in their eyes but it was over masked as their mouths went to huge smiles at seeing him awake.

"Dad, you're awake!" Alexis said excitedly running over to her father's side and wrapping him in an awkward sideways hug. He hissed in pain and she immediately pulled back and stood beside his bed. She gave him an apologetic smile and mumbled a "sorry" to him.

"It's ok Pumpkin, just watch out for the shoulder and leg" He smiled up at her happy to see his daughter's face again. He heard the door close quietly and looked at it questionably, only then did he notice that his hand had been let go of and lay by his side on the bed.

"You should thank her you know" Martha said drawing his attention to her. "She stayed by your side for the whole time you have been in here"

"How long have I been here?" He asked looking over to the window to see a small bit of light outside.

"Since last night"

"What's the time?" He said glancing back at her

"About 7"

"At night?"

"Yes, what's wrong Richard?" Martha said starting to get worried by the look of her son's distress

"That means I've been out for almost 24 hours" He said looking around confused. He shouldn't have been out that long even with his shoulder and leg like they were

"Well yes you had some sedatives put in you, why is that a problem?"

"Because that means I missed helping Beckett" He said now sitting up. He groaned again in pain but he didn't care, he needed to be there today for Kate

"Helping her with what?" Martha said rushing forward to help Castle get up

"Todays the day that her mom was murdered" He said groaning as he swung one of his legs over the side of the bed

"DAD!" Alexis yelled going over to him and pushing him back down onto the bed. "I will go get her if you want but don't get out of bed"

"But-" He started trying again to get up but just got pushed back down roughly

"No, you stay in bed and I'll go get her" She said to him not moving from beside him until she got a nod. She backed up a little bit and crossed her arms over her chest giving him a disapproving look. She always had to act like the adult in times when it came to Beckett. "You could have asked her to stay in the room you know?"

"I didn't even realise she was gone until I heard the door close" Castle said looking down at his hands like a little kid that got caught stealing

"Mhhhm, well if you need us just call" Alexis said while turning to her grandmother and starting for the door.

"I didn't mean it like that" He said sitting up again and looking at his daughter with an apologetic look

"It's ok dad I know what you meant" She said turning back around with a smile on her face. She had been joking with him and playing the part perfectly

"Now that was just mean" he said grumbling a little bit but surprising a smile. "Now come give your dad a proper hug"

Alexis went over to his bed and gave him a quick hug goodbye before she and Martha left the room. It was quite for a couple of seconds before the sound of the door opening caught his attention and he looked towards the door to see Kate

"Hey" She said smiling and slowly walking over to the bed

"Hey" Is all he could manage to say back looking at her. She was limping slightly but trying to cover it up for his sake. It didn't work; she saw the look of concern on his face as his eyes drifted down to her leg.

"Are you sure you're ok?" He said looking back up to her eyes

"I'm fine Castle" She said taking a seat beside his bed again. She winced slightly as she sat down but quickly masked it with another smile at him. "How's your leg?"

"Haven't you already asked me that?" He said smiling, trying to lighten the mood. She rolled her eyes at him

"Alexis told me you tried to get out of bed"

"Dibbie-dobber"

"She's just worried about you, why did you try to get out of bed anyway?"

"No reason" He said shrugging so she might just brush it under the rug. He was wrong. She grabbed one of his hands in hers and started rubbing reassuring circles on the back of it with her thumb, her face twisted with worry

"Tell me Castle" She said softly to him not breaking eye contact with him for even a second. He sighed in defeat, if he didn't tell her than she would keep pushing him till he did

"I was getting up to see you" He confessed looking down at their joined hands, finally breaking their eye contact

"Why?"

"Because of what today is" He said looking back up in her eyes to see a blank expression. She had no idea what he was talking about for a second but then it dawned on her. She still had a blank expression on the outside but he could see in her eyes the sadness she was feeling over this. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up and on him for a hug. He hopped to god that he wouldn't shoot him for this later. To his surprise she just wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug as well. He held back a hiss of pain when he felt her head lay on his shoulder; he could think about pain later, right now she needed him to be strong for her.

They sat there like that for a couple of minutes until she turned her head to the side and looked at him. She smiled at him silently thanking him for the comfort. He looked down to her and stared into her eyes and before he knew it he was leaning closer and closer to her and she was moving closer to him to. Their lips were only millimetres apart, their noses touching when the door all of a sudden swung open revealing a person standing there.


	11. Chapter 11

****_**A/N: Defiently the shortest chapter I will ever write for you guys but still important. I have 3 weeks holidays now (Yay!) so updates should be more frequent. If you feel like tell me how I'm doing, if not, I don't mind.  
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_**P.S. You have all read all 3 books right? Casue if you haven't there may be spoilers for the books in the next few chapters, just to warn you.  
><strong>_

_**OK enjoy!  
><strong>_

_**-Amy :)  
><strong>_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

"Josh" Kate said getting of Castle and sitting back in her seat beside him. Josh didn't say a word and just looked back between Castle and Kate for a minute before anger flashed on his face and he stormed out the door. "Josh!" She called again getting up and running to the door. She winced slightly at the sudden movement but pushed it from the back of her mind. As she exited the door she saw him walking away angrily and ran to catch up to him. She grabbed his arm and effectively stopped him from moving and turned him around.

"What the hell was that Kate?" He asked angrily trying to keep his voice from raising but failing miserably, "'cause it looked like you were about to kiss him!"

"Just let me explain…" She tried but got cut of when he spoke again.

"NO! I'm sick of being second best to him!"

"What are you talking about?" Kate asked starting to get angry herself

"Don't play dumb with me, Kate. I see you two together all the time, every time I come to see you at work he's there! Every time I come to see you at your house! He's there!"

"That's because he's my partner Josh!"

"And I'm your boyfriend! He knows almost everything about you and even has a key to your apartment! What do I have? Nothing!"

"That's because he is my partner! It's for protection since the bombing last year! I have a key to his apartment just in case as well!"

"Tell me one other person in the precinct that has a key to their partner's apartment!"

"Ryan and Esposito!"

"That doesn't count!"

"Why not?"

"Because there two guys!"

"So what because I have a key to Castle's apartment and he has one to mine means there's something going on between us?"

"Why don't you tell me! Because it sure seems that way" Josh yelled.

Kate was barely able from keeping her hand at her side from slapping him. Yes she had kissed Castle but that was for undercover work and she wasn't going to kiss him in the hospital room, she was going to kiss his cheek as a silent thank you. How dare he think she was one of those girls who cheated on her boyfriend every chance she got. She didn't have tears in her eyes because she knew what was coming and didn't actually mind it, none of her relationships lasted to long and she didn't believe this time would be any different.

"If you don't trust me to be faithful then were through" She said and turned around to walk back to her chair to grab her bag. She didn't feel anything try and stop her from walking away so she thought she had made herself clear enough.

She walked back to the chair with her arms still crossed over her and looked around for her bag. She silently cursed at herself remembering it was in the room with Castle. She thought momentarily about leaving it behind just as to not face Castle right this second but reminded herself that her pain medication and phone were in her bag. She took a minute to calm herself down before placing her hand on the door knob and slowly turning it to open the door.

She smiled at the man sitting on the bed and he gave her a gentle smile back. He didn't know what had happened but could see that Kate didn't want to talk about it right now.

"How's the investigation?" He said instead. She sighed in relief thanking god that he didn't ask what had just happened.

"It's fine" She said moving back over to the seat beside his bed and picking up her bag "Listen, I'm sorry Castle but I've got to go"

"It's alright" He said with a reassuring smile towards her. She could see the un-asked question in his eyes asking _'Are you alright?'_ "Keep me posted ok?"

Kate nodded in response to his question but also to the unasked one before turning and walking toward the door to leave. As she put her handle on the door she turned back around to him and smiled, silently saying that she would come back as soon as possible. Castle just gave her a nod and another smile before she left from the room.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Castle walked into his loft with a smile on his face. He was finally home after 2weeks lying in the hospital bed. He walked into the kitchen, expecting to see his mother and daughter. When he didn't find them there he walked back out into the lounge room to see the lights off. He was curious as to why the lights were off, Alexis and Martha should have been home. He walked over to the light switch and flicked the lights on.

"SURPRISE" the 8 people that we're now standing in his living room yelled. He looked around, his eyes wide with surprise. He heard the Alexis and Kate laughing at the look on his face. The boys walked up to him and shook his hand.

"Welcome home Castle" Esposito said with a large grin on his face.

"Yeah welcome home" Ryan said clapping him on his shoulder, breaking him out of a trance he had entered at all the streamers and balloons around his apartment. He smiled at them and started to walk into the living room more.

"Welcome home Castle" Kate said to him with her arms crossed over her chest and a giant smile placed on her face.

"Welcome home dad!" Alexis said running up to him and giving him a hug. He stumbled a little bit and hissed in pain. His shoulder still hasn't fully healed and neither has his leg, although his leg was feeling better at the moment. Alexis quickly jumped back and said sorry. He just smiled at her and went to greet his mother as well. When he had said hello to everyone and thanked them for coming, he only had Montgomery, Jenny and Lanie to say it to, they started to drink and make small talk.

Lanie got pretty drunk fast and was rambling on and on about whatever came to her mind. She saw Kate and Castle talking and she got an idea. She smirked before slowly walking up to them and she heard them talking about the case and possible solutions. She rolled her eyes at them. They were so predictable and probably the most perfect couple she knew, hopefully her idea will help them see that.

"Hey guys" Lanie said as she stopped next to them and smiled. They both turned towards her and Kate rolled her eyes.

"You're drunk Lanie" Kate said then sighed heavily

"Just a little bit" Lanie said with another smirk then took a sip of her drink before speaking again "But let's talk about you two"

"What's there to talk about?" Castle said getting slightly nervous at the turn of conversation

"Kate told me you two kissed?"

"Lanie!" Kate almost yelled at her but she just smirked back to her.

"Twice" Lanie said matter-of-factuality before taking another sip of her almost empty wine

"Yeah….we….ah" Castle stammered, turning pink with embarrassment.

"I just have one question for you Castle"

"Don't" Kate said quickly realising where she was going with this and hoping to god that Lanie was sober enough to heed her warning. She was wrong.

"Why didn't you kiss her earlier?" Lanie said looking pointedly at Castle with an eyebrow raised. Castle choked on the drink he was taking a sip of and looked at Lanie with wide eyes

"What?" He said in a confused and almost scared voice. He had thought about kissing Kate many, many times before but never actually been game enough to do it. The only reason he kissed her the first time that night was because he thought that they might die, which they almost did. And the only reason he kissed her last week was…because…. Oh who was he kidding, he just wanted to kiss her again. To feel her sweet, delicate lips on his again. He knew it was wrong, she was with Josh, but he couldn't help himself.

"You should've kissed her earlier, writer boy, she was waiting for you to" Lanie said grinning in Kate's direction

"Lanie!" Kate said again glaring at her friend while a light blush appeared on her cheeks, "You've had too much to drink. I'm taking you home. NOW" Lanie just continued to grin at her as she got turned around and pushed towards the loft door. Kate took the glass out of Lanie's hand and placed it on the table with her own. She was so going to kill Lanie tomorrow, or maybe just make a lot of noise in the morning while Lanie gets over her hangover. She grinned at the idea as she opened the front door and ushered Lanie out. When she turned around to say goodbye to everyone she was met with Castle, standing closer than usual. "See you tomorrow, Castle?" She said smiling up at him.

"Until tomorrow, detective" Castle said with a smile on his face. He wondered if what Lanie had said was true or not. If it was, he would have kissed her a lot sooner and by the look of that blush she had just before, Lanie was speaking the truth, although that could just be a side effect of the alcohol. He didn't even realise that he was staring at her until he saw her big, beautiful eyes stare back into his. He wanted to lean closer and feel her luscious lips on his again but refrained himself. He had to remember that she was taken; she was with Josh and not him.

Kate stared up at him, into his deep ocean blue eyes. She wanted to kiss him again, his lips were like an addiction that she would never be able to beat, and she didn't really care. She was about to lean closer, to feel his lips on hers again, when her phone rang. She inwardly groaned in frustration and was going to snap at anyone who was on the other end of that line. She reached in her pocket and grabbed her phone.

"Beckett" She said irritably. She listened to the other end of the phone and this time audibly groaned. "Be there in 20" She looked to Castle with an apologetic smile. "We got a body"

"I'll tell the boys and grab my coat" Castle said going to turn away but getting caught at the last second by Kate's hand on his arm

"Are you sure you're well enough Castle?" She asked, her voice filled with worry

"I'll be fine Beckett, trust me" he said and gave her a reassuring smile before walking back into the apartment to grab the boys.

'_This body better be damn important to the case'_ Kate thought to herself as she turned around to see where Lanie went _'Or I'm going to shoot the murderer myself'_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"What do we have?" Kate asked as she walked up to Perlmutter who was standing over the body. The body looked like a girl, about 16-17 with long blonde hair. That's all Kate could make out; the body was all puffed up and red with stingers sticking out of it.

"It seems that she got stung with over a hundred bees but the cause of death was the venom from the stingers" Perlmutter said looking up from his clipboard towards Kate and Castle.

Castle was looking down at the body and swore he saw the hand become smaller, he shrugged it off but then it happened again. He walked closer to the body and pulled his pen out of its pocket to touch the girls' hand. As the pen touched the hand the hand seemed to disintegrate and turn into a pile of dust, or something, onto the floor. He held in a scream of fright and looked to Kate to see if she had seen what he had. The look on her face said she had and was just as terrified as he was.

"What the hell was that?" Kate asked turning to Perlmutter with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh right, the blood seems to have acid in it and whenever the body is moved or touched, it disintegrates more" Perlmutter said looking to the body questionably

"Is there an idea how it got into the blood stream and not the rest of the body?"

"I'd have to exam the body but every time I get close, it destroys more of the evidence. We were able to get this off the body though" He said handing a note to Kate and walking off. She looked to Castle worriedly before flipping the note open to read:

_You're getting slower detective. Maybe we shouldn't be a fan. Tell me if you need a hint and May the odds be ever in your favour!  
><em>

_Signed Seneca, a.k.a. Head Game Maker_

She was mocking them. She was telling them they were stupid for not catching her yet. Kate handed the not to Castle and desperately tried to keep her anger at bay. Castle read over the not a couple of times before something caught his eye.

"Beckett, does this say '_we_ shouldn't be a fan'?" Castle asked pointing to the sentence. Kate looked over at the note and her eyes went wide with surprise.

"There is more than one killer?" Kate said in a disbelieving tone

"Or there is one killer, and the person that writes the notes?" Castle said suggestively. Kate took in a breath through her nose in frustration and something caught her smell. Something was of. She may look weird but she sniffed the note and smelled it again. _Lemon juice._

"Someone get me a lighter!" Kate yelled around. An officer ran up to her and handed her a lighter. She turned the note over and held the flame underneath the other side. The paper started to get brown but certain bits were darker than others. There was defiantly writing on the back and it was starting to show. Kate looked up at Castle with wide eyes and then looked back down at the paper to read:  
><em>Very Good Katniss, or was it Peeta that figured this out? I will be at the 'Games' club tomorrow at 8. If you can't find me, you aren't looking very hard.<em>

"Katniss?" Kate spoke after reading the letter through twice. She then handed it to Castle to read.

"Peeta?" He said after finishing the letter through also. He looked up to Kate and raised an eyebrow. "You don't think….?"

She groaned in frustration. She was already _Nikki Heat_ now she was _Katniss Everdeen _also? If he was Castle was Peeta and the killer/s followed the book then… they would end up together. It's not like that's not what she wants, actually, she had no idea what she wants with Castle. Castle's talking pulled her out of her thoughts and she turned to him.

"Huh?" She said dumbly

"I said" Castle said with slight amusement in his voice "If I'm Peeta and you're Katniss. Then who's Gale?"

"I don't know"

"Well he's meant to be your best friend"

She thought for a while because yes he had to be her best friend but also had to have a crush on her. _'Couldn't be Ryan,' _she thought to herself _'He has Jenny. Couldn't be Esposito, even if he tries to deny it, he has Lanie'_ She was puzzled at who it could be till a thought struck her. "Josh" Is all she said.

"But his not your best friend, I am" Castle pointed out.

"Yes but he still loved me" Kate said not even thinking about her words until the came out. She silently cursed at herself for letting that slip out. She had hoped to tell Castle in private that she had broken up with Josh. She looked up to him to see a huge grin plastered on his face. Kate pretended to play dumb. "What?"

"You said I was your best friend" Castle said pretty much hopping on the spot with excitement.

_Oh._ "Well, you….are my best….. guy friend" She said stuttering but shrugged at the end like it was no big deal. "Anyway let's all go home, get some rest and start this in the morning" Kate said turning and walking away. Castle ran up beside her and, once they hoped in the car, started to speak.

"Why not start tonight?" He asked looking at her. He had heard the 'Loved' but thought he would broach that topic when they were both a little more sober. They both had not had a lot to drink but he was feeling a slight buzz in the back of his head.

"Because it's 2:30 in the morning and we need to sleep the alcohol off" Kate said turning on the car. She needed to go home, sleep and get her head clear for what would definitely be a long day.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: How did you guys like it? Tell me if it was alright or not if you can.**_

_**P.S. Can you guys and girls help me find a story? I can't remember the name but I can remember that Rick, Kate, Alexis and some of her friends go camping. Can't rember anything else. (opps) Anyway if you can help me that would be very much appretiated.  
><strong>_

_**- Amy :)  
><strong>_


	14. Chapter 14

****_**A/N: Apologizing again for leaving this so long. Promise I will never ever do that again. Caution as this does have a kind of suggestive thing in it but not to bad. Review if you would like, if not ok.**_

_**(P.S. Yes my new name is Beastly21798 untill further notice)  
><strong>_

_**-Amy :)  
><strong>_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 14<strong>

"What do I wear?" Kate asked Lanie for the 17th time. She was frustrated because it shouldn't be this hard to pick a dress. She had tonnes of dresses but none for this sort of thing. Well she did, but none that would suffice for this… sort… of club. This club was a sexy club, but also a serious club. Some people went there to get drunk and have fun; others went there for business deals of sorts. Kate had no idea what to where or how to dress.

"Let me have a look" Lanie said getting of the bed and walking through the cupboard. As she was going through and saying no to almost everything Kate owned, Kate heard her phone ring. She groaned and walked over to the phone expecting it to be Castle.

"What do you want, Castle?" Kate said down the phone, clearly irritated

"Hey Kate" said the voice down the other end of the phone. Kate's breath hitched at the man's voice and she swallowed hard before speaking.

"Josh"

"How are you?"

"What do you want Josh?" She said completely dismissing his question

"I want us" He stated firmly

"Why, I thought I cheated on you" This statement caught Lanie's attention and she walked beside her friend and motioned for her to put it on loud speaker. Kate agreed thinking it couldn't be that bad.

"No I was just upset because…" Josh's voice trailed off like he didn't know how to finish the sentence. There was a long silence before he continued. "You said his name"

"What?"

"Castle you said his name, the other night, you said his name" Josh finished. Kate was confused for a few seconds before she caught on. '_Oh. OH' _she stood there with her mouth opened wide as she stared at her best friend for conformation that Josh had just said that. Lanie nodded and her eyes were wide with surprise but she was grinning like a kid on Christmas. "Katie. Katie" Josh said on the other end pulling her from her thoughts.

"Listen Josh we'll talk later, I got to go" Kate said before hanging up and putting her phone on the table beside her. She walked over and sat down on the edge of her bed putting her head in her hands. After a minute Lanie put on her straight face again before speaking.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lanie said putting a comforting hand on Kate's shoulder. She really didn't want to talk about it but knew she would have to eventually. Before she could answer yes or no the doorbell rang. She silently thanked god for the interruption before turning towards Lanie.

"Can you get that please?" She asked and Lanie nodded getting up and walking to the door. When Lanie re-entered the room she had a box in her hands.

"Writer boy came through again it seems" She said as she placed the box on the bed and picked up the note and read out loud, "_'A dress worthy of Kate Beckett'"_

Kate groaned and stood up and walked towards the box. He did it again; he bought her a dress again. It's not that she didn't like the last dress he gave her it's just that he should at least _ask_ first.

"Let's see what it is this time" Kate said as she lifted the lid of the box and the paper of the dress. Her jaw went slack at the dress. She looked over to Lanie to see the same expression. It was a simple dress but for some reason he always knew the _perfect_ dress to get her no matter what the occasion.

"Well this will be fun" she heard Lanie say beside her.

_**Castle's Loft**_

Castle glanced at his watch again. 1 minute until Kate gets here. He sent her a dress and hopes she actually wears it. She wore the last dress he sent her so why not this one. She looked so good in that last dress to. He would love to take credit for picking it out but it was his daughter and mother who made the final decision for him but this dress, this dress he picked by himself. He heard a knock at the door and hurried to get it. When he opened the door and saw her, his brain stopped working. In front of him was this smoky eyed, sexy haired Beckett with this dress that only went to mid-thigh, was strapless AND red. The lipstick she was wearing matched the dress colour and he swore he had never, _ever_, seen anyone sexier. She smiled a little coy smile at him somewhere in between _I know what I'm doing to you_ and _you picked the dress Castle_. He was brought back from his thoughts when she said his name.

"Castle!" Kate said and by the sound of her tone, it wasn't the first time she had said his name.

"Huh?" He asked stupidly, bring his eyes up to meet hers.

"I said are you ready to go?" Kate said with a raised eyebrow.

"Ah, yeah. Just let me get my keys" He said ushering her inside and closing the door behind her. He walked off and over to his study where his keys were laying. He smiled as a thought crossed his mind. His car matched her dress colour too. When he walked back out to his lounge room he saw that she had slipped a coat on. He didn't even realise she had a coat on her arm when she walked in.

"You ready?" He said dangling the keys in his hand. She smiled and nodded at him then held out her hand expectantly for the keys. He pouted at her and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Give me the keys Castle" She said.

"You don't know where to go" Castle said still holding onto the keys.

"I've been to the club before Castle. I know where I'm going"

He gaped at her, not expecting the answer he got, although he had learned a long time ago to expect the un-expected when it came to Beckett. He pouted more but finally relinquished the keys to her. She smiled and turned around, swinging the keys in her hand as they left the apartment, Castle grumbling along behind her about her not being fair.

_**Games Club**_

As they entered the games club they could hear the sound of the music going on through the club. Kate made her way along the floor gracefully as Castle went along behind her not as gracefully but still alright. They made their way to the bar and both ordered their drinks before looking around for the suspects. They were at least 5 minutes early but it was still worth a shot. As Castle looked around he noticed a lot of the guys staring at Kate and suddenly felt himself get very protective of her. When he saw a guy coming closer to them, the guy's eyes trained on Kate. He stepped up closer to her and gave the man a glare, effectively telling the man to back off. He must have got it because he stopped moving towards them and turned around again.

Kate had seen the whole thing but was amused by Castles antics and pretended to play dumb with him.

"Castle, why are you so close to me?" She asked, annoyance in her tone. She was silently proud of herself that she could get annoyed at him when he was this close to her.

"Just trying to save you from all the guys in here, I'm sure Josh would be furious if he found out another guy was hitting on you" Castle said not adding the last bit that he would be mad to.

She raised an eyebrow in amusement and told herself she would tell him now, what better time than at a night club right? "We broke up. I don't care what he thinks anymore"

He was surprised that she had actually said that out loud to him. But he covered up his surprise with a smile. "Trouble in paradise?" He teased lightly not expecting an answer.

"He thought I was cheating on him" She said with a shrug. Trying to play it off as no big deal and hoping he wouldn't ask any more questions.

His eyes almost bugged out of his head when he heard this. "You, cheating?! Please like you would cheat on anyone. You're one of the most trust worthy people I know"

She smiled slightly at him and whispered "Thanks Castle"

"Always" He said smiling back and picking up the drink that had just arrived. He looked around the club again and caught two people he knew walk into the club. He knew the first one from a list of suspects they had been reviewing today but the second one was through Kate and made no sense why he was here. He nudged Kate on the shoulder and nodded towards the door. She looked at it and her mouth fell open in surprise.

"Demming?"


End file.
